She was pronounced brain-dead soon after a routine procedure to remove her tonsils at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland on Dec. 9.

After the girl went into cardiac arrest, the flow of oxygen to her brain was cut off and a CT scan showed two-thirds of her brain had swollen. She was declared brain-dead after three tests showed there was no "cerebral activity," according to court records.

The supervising doctor said in a court declaration that "there is absolutely no medical possibility" that Jahi's condition is reversible "or that she will someday recover from death."

David Durand, chief of pediatrics at the hospital, said in a statement that "we have the deepest sympathy for Jahi's mother, who wishes her daughter was alive."

But, he added, "The ventilator cannot reverse the brain death that has occurred, and it would be wrong to give false hope that Jahi will ever come back to life."

Jahi's mother, Nailah Winkfield, who wore a T-shirt to Monday's hearing bearing a picture of her daughter and herself, and who periodically dabbed her eyes, said she believes her daughter "wants to live" and that the hospital should not "pull the plug," particularly before Christmas. She has said she believes God will "spark her brain awake."